Facebook revamps users' profile pages

Z_01_BTRE6B5024P00_RTROPTP_0_FACEBOOK">

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks during a news conference at Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto, California May 26, 2010.

Credit: Reuters/Robert Galbraith

By Sarah McBride

LOS ANGELES | Sun Dec 5, 2010 7:46pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Facebook on Sunday unveiled new profile pages that give photos center stage, allow users to highlight important friends and go into far more detail on their jobs.

Previous changes on the world's largest social networking site have sometimes resulted in criticism on how the company handles privacy issues, generating occasional backlashes against Facebook. The revamp comes amid ongoing speculation about when Facebook will launch an initial public offering.

In a blog post, Facebook software engineer Josh Wiseman said the overhaul would make it "easier for you to tell your story and learn about your friends."

Users with the new profile get a strip of photos at the top of their profile pages. Under the old system, users keep photos under a separate tab.

Bigger photos accompany lists of interests, such as favorite television shows and sports teams, helping them pop out from the screen.

Users can also list their friends by relationship, grouping family members together and highlighting their best friends.

The changes make it easier for Facebook users to integrate details about their work lives into their pages, a shift for a service used largely for social activities.

There is much more room for job information such as specific projects a user has worked on. The move highlights Facebook's potential to compete with LinkedIn, a career-networking Web site with 85 million members. It too is considered a strong IPO candidate.

Wiseman said Facebook would gradually roll out the redesign over the next year, giving users the option to switch to it immediately if they like.

Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg was set to discuss the changes on CBS's "60 Minutes" on Sunday night.

(Reporting by Sarah McBride; Editing by Marguerita Choy)

View the original article here

Facebook profile overhaul revamps personal pages

0892130" target=new>launched in late October.

"You can see all the things that you have in common with that person," Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg told 60 Minutes interviewer Lesley Stahl. "It gives you this amazing connection with that person in a way that the current version of the profile that we have today just doesn't do."

The new design will roll out gradually and reach all users by early next year, Facebook said Sunday in a blog post describing the changes. Those who want to upgrade immediately can do so at http://www.facebook.com/about/profile/.

Zuckerberg's wide-ranging 60 Minutes interview touched on a number of Facebook's hot-button issues, including the frequent flare-ups around how it handles private data. A Wall Street Journal investigation two months ago illustrated that many of Facebook's most popular applications transmit personally identifying information on their users to advertising and tracking companies -- a violation of Facebook's policies, but one it does little to police.

Pressed on that point by Stahl, Zuckerberg fell back on the "it's against our polices" defense. Facebook shuts down the applications it catches violating those rules, he said.

Regulators and lawmakers are growing more concerned about how companies like Facebook guard their users' privacy, and are considering new rules and mandates. It's an area where Zuckerberg acknowledges having made mistakes: "Do we get it right all the time? No! But it's something that we take really seriously, and every day we come to work and just try to do a good job on this."

No phone -- and no IPO news: Zuckerberg flatly denied one persistent Facebook rumor: The company has no plans for a Facebook-branded phone, he said. Instead, it's working on software to run on all phones.

He also struck a deeply skeptical tone about the value of going public. Asked if Facebook will ever have an IPO, he answered: "Maybe."

"Here's the way that I think about it. A lot of people who, I think, build startups or companies think that selling the company or going public is this endpoint. Right, it's like you win when you go public," Zuckerberg said. "And that's just not how I see it."

Zuckerberg often acknowledges his missteps, but there's one major decision he thinks history has proven him right on.

"We had this opportunity to sell the company to Yahoo for a billion dollars. And we turned that down. I think a lot of people at the time thought we should sell the company," he said. "But you know, I felt really strongly. And I -- I think, like, now, people generally think that that was a good decision."

Take note, Groupon: Saying no can pay off! 

First Published: December 5, 2010: 5:29 PM ET

View the original article here